The jury in the corruption trial of former Dublin Assistant City and County Manager, Mr George Redmond, has been told that the key witness in the case personally handed in a cheque for £10,000 to Dublin County Council in October 1987 to purchase a strip of land as a right of way.
Mr Brendan Fassnidge told defence counsel, Mr Brendan Grehan SC that he had no memory of paying a cheque for £10,000 to the council on October 14th, 1988. Mr Fassnidge's claim that he paid £10,000 cash to Mr Redmond as a bribe to get this right of way is at the centre of the trial.
Mr Redmond (79) has pleaded not guilty to two charges of corruption alleging he got £10,000 from Mr Fassnidge on a date unknown in 1987-88 relating to the sale of the right-of-way.
One of a series of documents outlined by Mr Grehan, in continued cross-examination of Mr Fassnidge on day three of the trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, was a copy of a letter dated October 14th, 1988 to his solicitor noting Mr Fassnidge personally delivered the cheque.
Another document outlined to the jury by Mr Grehan (with Mr Angus Buttanshaw), is a copy of an official receipt dated October 15th , 1988 from the council for the £10,000 cheque to Mr Fassnidge's solicitor, Mr Brendan O'Mahony.
Other documents put into the record before the jury dealt with the question of the valuation of the strip of land required by Mr Fassnidge for a right-of-way from a proposed petrol filling station.
Mr Grehan noted that an internal council document dated November 17th, 1987 valued the petrol station site at £270,000 and that the council should get £120,000 for the strip.
The right-of-way was one of the conditions on which planning permission for the petrol station was dependent.
Further documents dealt with internal council procedures concerning negotiation on the price with Mr Fassnidge, his meeting with the valuation officer on December 14th, 1987 when accompanied by former TD Mr Liam Lawlor, a further meeting he had alone with the officer on January 17th, 1988 and conditions for the sale of the strip to him for £10,000.
Mr Fassnidge told Mr Grehan he remembered the December 1987 meeting when Mr Lawlor was with him but had no memory of the January 1988 meeting at which, counsel told him "you negotiated the £10,000 for the strip". Mr Grehan said the jury would hear evidence later of this.
A further document was a copy of a letter, dated January 26th, 1988, from the Chief Valuation Officer to Mr Fassnidge confirming the terms and conditions for the sale of the strip of land for £10,000 to him and noting that the strip could only be used for access to a petrol station.
Mr Fassnidge agreed that the address to which the letter had been sent was his at that time but he had no recollection of receiving it or replying to it.
He agreed with Mr Grehan that a letter dated January 27th, 1988 from him to the chief valuation officer agreeing to the sale terms, bore his signature.
"Everything looks above board", he said.
Mr Grehan noted that a further document showed the order concerning the sale had to be amended from indicating Mr Fassnidge as the purchaser to Grand Prix Motors Ltd.
Mr Fassnidge agreed he was the principal of this company but denied he had used it to prevent creditors coming after him as a result of his previous business going into liquidation.
Earlier, Mr Fassnidge denied any knowledge of a 'Section 4 motion which had been proposed by Mr Lawlor and adopted by the council on September 14th, 1987 directing the manager, Mr Redmond, to grant planning permission for the petrol station. This had been refused earlier.